Chuba Hubbard Really Focused on Football Right Now
STILLWATER -- Chuba Hubbard still cares about others, he always will. This summer his caring overflowed on several occasions as the talented running back became an influential advocate and an activist as college football players used their voices.
However, as Hubbard met with the media, mostly local and some national and even one reporter from Canada for the first time since the eventful summer, the preseason All-American running back was steadfast in his interest in social issues, but seemingly much more interested in talking about football. He even broke a smile when told before the Zoom session started that he had been named preseason All-American by ESPN.
Hubbard started his offseason activism by showing an objection to a t-shirt that his head coach, Mike Gundy, wore on a fishing trip to Lake Texhoma. That was the tweet heard round the World or at least throughout college football. It took several days, but Hubbard and Gundy seemed to come to an understanding and worked out their issues. The real issue in subsequent meetings with Hubbard and other players was they wanted more of a relationship with their head coach.
Hubbard then jumped on several other issues involving protesters being charged with crimes. The backlash there topped what had happened in June. It was shortly after those posts that Hubbard put a moratorium on his Twitter. He came back to social media, albeit briefly, to join in with Clemson quarterback and fellow All-American Trevor Lawrence and other college players on the movement to play college football at a time where it didn't look good. As it turned out several days later the Big Ten and the Pac-12 did cancel their fall football seasons, while the Big 12, ACC, and SEC are playing on.
That was what mostly surfaced in Hubbard's nearly 20 minutes spent with the media, he is looking forward to playing on.
I asked Hubbard if he feels good about where he is with his preparation. Gundy had detailed earlier this preseason that he and the coaching staff were letting Hubbard work his way through camp without much pressure, a lighter workload and then ramping his work up here the last 10 days or so.
"I feel great. I'm bigger, stronger, faster," Hubbard said answering my question about how he is feeling right now. "I fixed a lot of things that I need to work on. I feel good going into the season."
Pokes Report was the first to ask about his activism over the summer. In particular, his teaming up with Lawrence, Josh Fields, and other college football players to voice that the players wanted to play.
"I think the players' voices are very important. We're the people playing," Hubbard said with purpose in his voice. "To hear our voices and consider what we're saying. I think that's important. Everything that they're doing, everything that I was trying to do I think it was just for the greater good."
That led to Scott Wright of The Oklahoman picking right up with the earlier opinions that Hubbard made public and whether they accomplished what he intended.
"Anyone that knows me knows that I just want what's best for my teammates and just for people in general, even people I don't know," Hubbard explained. "I'm always just trying to help in any way I can. In regards to the greater good, that's what I'm referring to just helping (others).
"We've definitely grown more as a team and just as a program," he continued. "A lot of that stuff happened, some things didn't happen the way they should have, but in the end I felt it was (not the best thing) but I felt that it helped us in the end and we're heading in the right direction."
When Hubbard talks about doing things for his teammates he is very serious. Chuba prides himself on being a great teammate.
Pat Kinnison - Pokes Report chief photographer
Hubbard is heading in the right direction. Since the "so called" ramping up of Hubbard in practice and in scrimmages, he has shown the bigger, stronger, faster, and even more loose moves in impressing even those that are used to his abilities. His head coach has told him he is playing the best that he's seen. That is a scary thought for opposing defenses.
Hubbard seemed to want the summer to fade in his interview with the media. His voice picked up when the topic turned to football and I saved this for last. Hubbard wants to play in the NFL, wants to be a player that NFL teams badly want to add to their roster. I asked what he might show different this season, already knowing that he has really worked on his hands. Hubbard wants to show how dangerous he can be catching passes in the open field.
"I've worked on my hands with coach (Kasey) Dunn every year since I got here, actually, every practice pretty much. That's been an ongoing thing. Now I've definitely worked on my routes, flexing outside and stuff like that. In regards to me improving my game, trying to improve running in between the tackles, getting off the edge, open field cuts, all these different things. Obviously, last year a lot of good things happened. I had a great O-line, I had a great team around me to help me with those things. I just realized that I got to work on a lot of things, and I did. So I'm happy where I'm at right now."
I think Oklahoma State fans will be very happy when they get to see him again, that would now be Saturday, Sept. 19.
